Bittersweet ending….

Mother nature threw the charter fleet a pretty rough curve ball the last couple weeks of the season, high winds and multiple storm fronts had a big influence on the number of trips we were able to run. High seas are not fun to fish in and the fact that the best fishing was way offshore made it necessary to cancel a bunch of trips for most captains. Customer safety is always our number one priority.

Overall the fishing this season was on the tough side as far as Salmon go…yes we still caught a bunch of them, but the numbers were hard to come by most days, the lake trout and steelhead numbers seemed to be better this year. This should help the fall, winter, spring fisheries on the river.

The big boat is out of the water or the season, and our attention and efforts have turned towards fishing the Pere Marquette and Muskegon rivers for king salmon then Steelhead. If you are interested in hitting the water please don’t hesitate to give us a call, we operate all year.

Another blow day update

Big north winds have finally come to lake Michigan, The lake has flipped and there are a few fish pushing into the pier heads and PM lake. These fish will likely move up the river fairly quickly. Late season staging kings are suckers for meat rigs and plugs…big plugs usually take BIG kings this time of year, glow and wonderbread are my favorites. Bigger flashers and bigger flies can get them going as well. The fishing the last few weeks has been inconsistent for sure, but its been fun every day that we’ve been on the water. How many kings are really out there…time will tell….lets hope for a strong finish to the season. Remember we also offer guided river trips for Salmon and Steelhead.

We still have a handful of morning charters available if you are looking for a great time on the water. 231-250-9745, call or text, email @ jkolehouse@sbcglobal.net

Looking for good herring…make sure you are running the familiar bite herring, great cuts of herring and they flat out work! www.familiarbite.com

Blow day update!!
Just a quick update on the fishing. Yes we are catching KINGS!! and they are big!! Boated a fish just short of 32 lbs last week, numerous fish 24-27 lbs are available. This could be the year we see several over 40lbs. Winds and weather are still making a big impact on fish location, one day they are here, one day they are somewhere else. Tons of bait around this year. Steelhead and cohos are also increasing in numbers. Spoons have been great for the steelhead and coho’s. Meat rigs and flies behind flashers for the big KINGS.

We still have a handful of morning charters available if you are looking for a great time on the water. 231-250-9745, call or text, email @ jkolehouse@sbcglobal.net

Looking for good herring…make sure you are running the familiar bite herring, great cuts of herring and they flat out work! www.familiarbite.com

Return of the king???

Mixed bag fishing continues, Although King Salmon are increasing in numbers, numbers are still on the light side. We are targeting Kings early, then dropping gear to the bottom most days to pick up a few Lake trout, copper lines are picking off the occasional Steelhead and Coho as well.

Flasher and meat rigs are getting it done for the kings, make sure you give the new familiar bite herring strips a try, real herring, slightly thicker more meaty cuts that in the past. Looks and fishes GREAT! Chrome spinnies and spin n glos are the ticket for trout, various spoons on coppers have been good at times as well…

Dates are going fast, get ahold of us for a day of fun on the water.

Almost what some consider “Prime Time”….

Its mid July and its time for the Adult Kings to start moving closer to their spawning rivers and put the feed bag on before the big run. The weather this summer hasn’t made it easy most days to stay on the Kings, the water has been moving back and forth like a washing machine. We really need a steady wind pattern to set up and let the water stratify to stack the fish up. With that said….the fishing has still been pretty good most days. Its been a mix of Salmon, Steelhead and Lake trout most days, We should really see the Salmon numbers go up in the coming weeks.

Still plenty of open dates, if you are looking for a fun fishing charter please give us a call!!

July is here and the Hot temps and strong south winds should….hopefully stack up the water on Michigan’s west coast and with it the mature Kings. June is now behind us and the fishing is typically hit and miss, based on winds and weather patterns. This past June was pretty typical, a few very good days and some a bit on the slower side. But overall we got into plenty of fish and had a blast on the water with our guests.

We are really looking forward to the next couple months, as these typically prove to be the best for huge fish in our area. Hopefully we get into the right weather patterns and wind directions to set up the lake and hold the fish on our side of the lake.

June was mostly a spoon game out there, but look for meat rigs and flashers to take center stage from here on out, epically as the fish move deeper to beat the heat. White and green flashers will always perform well as well as UV and chrome flashers on the sunny days. If you are not running the Familiar Bite herring strips you are not running the best meat out there, perfect had cut strips that close the deal with those big kings!!

Give us a call, text or email to get on the water with us this summer.

More Kings!!!

The fishing is still pretty good in Ludington, Chinook salmon are making up the bulk of the catch mixed in with a few steelhead and Lake trout. Now is a great time to book your fishing charter. Why wait till later in the summer? The fishing is great right now….will that change…possibly.

The key has been watching the lake surface temps and following the warmer water.

Its been mostly a spoon bite for the most part and the fish are scattered up and down the water column. Spoon colors seem to change daily. Meat rigs and well as flashers and flies are taking a few fish as well.

Summer charters make great fathers day as well as graduation gifts!!

FYI…We are experiencing problems uploading current photos on the site, for current photos and more info head on over to our FB page

https://www.facebook.com/HattrickCharters

Kings…Kings… more Kings is the name of the game on the big waters of Lake Michigan, The fishing on the lake has been great for most ports from the southern end, moving north past Ludington to at least Frankfort from the reports I’ve heard. The fish are running large and testing the skills of anglers. Give us a call to get in on the fishing. We can accommodate large groups as well.

A fishing trip makes a great fathers day gift!!

Is almost time to launch the Hattrick!

I’m hoping to have the Hattrick in the water net week and get the shakedown trip out of the way asap. If you are interested in getting on the water with us this summer please contact us to lock in a day or two.

Season winds down….

The fishing on the lake the last few weeks was not the big finish we had hoped for. The great fishing we had gave way to very inconsistent weather patterns that mixed up our water and scattered the fish. The big mature kings are trickling through the harbor, the cohos have scattered and the fishing has been very tough most days.

I am still getting some calls for trips, but unless the fishing improves on the lake, I will likely be running river trips as we move forward from here. If the fishing improves on the lake I will jump back on the big boat and get after the open water fishing.

I would like to thank all of those that fished with us this summer and years past. Thank you to those that inquired about fishing with us. Without your support we would not be able to do what we love. Thank you very much!!!!!